each day an adventure in alaska: what to do next...always the question...

especially in the times of Covid-19. our numbers are ticking up and another holiday weekend is with us. we have surpassed the 1000 positive mark for our state. still much lower than other states but the uptick in the last few weeks is concerning. we went from less than 5 cases positive/day to more like 50 positive cases/day.

there are all the trump cult members who watch right wing propaganda crap and do not think the virus is real or think it's no big deal, who believe that not wearing a mask is a way to show support for trump and patriotism. it's nuts.

they blame everyone but him for everything. now the bounty issue is being twisted, as we all suspected it would. somehow those fools are believing that Schiff was briefed and did nothing and trump is, of course, not responsible. he is the Commander in Chief. his is the ultimate one responsible. even if you refuse to read the daily briefs or listen to updates...he is responsible for the information...and even if you buy that bull...it's been nearly a week since this came out and he still has done nothing...so even if they want to blame others, he's known about it and done nothing.

more and more he does seem like he is a puppet to Putin. Putin will be with us for awhile as he got the rules changed in Russia so he can be "president" until 2036...that isn't a president, that is a dictator.

you really have to twist yourself into a pretzel now to support this fool, but sadly, his supporters continue to do just that. beyond any rational thinking at this point.

i have taken loads of photos over the last week. i just love these old boats on the spit and i can't go down there without getting some new pictures of them. it's always different, the light, the plants around the boats...

waking up early got me some fun photo ops. i'm not a person who wakes early though.

i did again the other day though, at 4 am, as we went out on the tour boat out of Seward.

of course, that morning it was announced that the other tour company out of Seward was stopping operations as two staff had tested + for Covid. you can't do anything at this point without Covid. it works its way into every aspect of our lives. so a little extra anxiety. then we had an over 80 new case count that day...although i think that was 2 days combined?

so besides work, that was probably my greatest risk taken and i'm sure i'll be a bit paranoid for the next several days. the crew kept wiping things down through the tour. and on a tour like this you stay mostly outside. i feel like outside is pretty safe really. open air, wind.

we had a beautiful day on the water though. hopefully, not my last hurrah in this life. we had a blend of whale sightings. we saw a humpback sleeping, one tail slapping and one breaching. we also saw a lone humpback bubble net feeding....so i can't say i've never seen it. do hope to one day see the group of them doing it. it was amazing though.

i got a few good photo's, the breaching is tough because by the time you get the camera on the whale it's mostly just the splash you get. i did get a few of the whale in the air. it's funny how small the whale looked in the photos. i mean those whales come close to 50 feet and 35 tons so they aren't small. quite the feat to be able to lift that huge body up and out of the water. it's a beautiful sight.

our boat took us out to Northwestern fiord. we had never been out that far so it was fun to see something totally new.

most of the glaciers out there are not really tide water anymore. still beautiful. the water wasn't too choppy which is actually amazing for Resurrection Bay.

we also saw many puffins, seals, otters, sea lions and porpoises. not many photo's of the puffins or porpoises as they move way too quickly.

these are still all from the trek to Homer. i have many photo's to look through still. i have finished looking at the photos from the big camera from the Major Marine tour but now looking through the Homer trek pics.

still debating another little road trip out across the Denali Highway perhaps.

my back is still sore from all the driving. gotta get these dogs walked today. yesterday i took a day off. just did stuff around the house and yard. the day before the dogs were stuck at home. i have left the gate open for them and therefore for Covid cat...so far he keeps returning.

fourth of July celebrations are being cancelled or scaled back. as a singleton/hermit like person, the day will not be much different for me than any other day. i am officially on vacation. sounds like it's busy at work. i don't think we've had a huge jump in hospitalized covid cases though.

thankful that Justice Roberts seems to be putting the law over the politics at this point. i do hope that continues.

a skiff out of Juneau crashed into a surfacing humpback. so far no reports of an injured whale but 3 of those on board the skiff required medical attention.

mushrooms...so excited. the morels continue to be a bounty for Alaskans. i think times like these are less difficult for us up here as many rely on the world around us still to fill their pantries and freezers. in a bigger city in the lower 48 this just isn't an option.

despite the loss of lives in an accident on the Seward highway last week from someone crossing a double yellow to pass someone...i had the exact thing happen to me on the drive back. some fool crossed the double yellow to pass me...it only got him between be and another car and there was a passing lane that came up within a few hundred feet. people are in such a dang hurry. all i could think of was the little girl and his father being killed and i was pissed.

it doesn't take much to realize that we are surrounded by some idiots out there.

the lupine were in full force along the road down to Homer. i still think they are behind at this point. they are a favorite. the fireweed is starting to bloom as well. always a sign of how much summer we have left.

the confederate flag continues to be a flash point for many on the right. i guess to me, they need to decide who gets their patriotism, the United States of America or the old confederate guard. you can't really be loyal to both. it's about time these old relics that symbolize racism are taken down. at this point hanging on to them one much question loyalties. that goes for the statues too. if you look at the history of when these statues were mostly put up you find that it was in response to laws that benefited the black community. many of the statues are made of cheap materials so they could put up as many as possible as a reminder to the blacks around them that there is still a powerful group who were against them.

now i just post something about the bounties on soldiers anytime someone screams their support for trump...hard to wiggle out of this one, and they had better not dare mention Benghazi as they look away and blame others for these soldiers lived being put at risk for cash while their beloved trump does nothing.

check out these lupine.

i will have to get my day started for real soon. have slept pretty good the last two days.

i felt like the scopalamine patch did a bit of a number on me. i may just stick to dramamine in the future. i've used the patch before but this time my mouth was so dry. it was bad. the meal they served was good but i think more and more bread and my digestive tract are not compatible. i'm thinking it's age related at this point. our systems just don't bounce as good as before. dang it!!

this is what getting up early gives you. i don't think i'll be making a habit of waking early though.

slabs of coal. hadn't been at the Ninilchik beach at this low of a tide.

not too many moose spotted on any of my drives. the sheep were pretty low on the way out to Seward the other day, which is always fun. i didn't want to get in my car at all yesterday.

covid numbers are rising in Texas...i have a quite a few family members there. Houston and Austin sound like they are getting hit. their hospitals are reaching capacity. wonder how those who posted that stupid plandemic video are feeling these days about the virus. a hoax still?

it's already 9:30!!

the light at times is so amazing.

these paws. he's still growing. i'm quite smitten with this kitten!! he has a lot of personality.

i must admit he's not a huge snuggler, but he's cool with being held and his purr is loud.

like how the occasional muscle has that red color in it. not sure why that is

this outdoor cat house that i put together a while back is a big hit with Covi. he usually is on the top section. but it's his favorite nap spot during the day...and maybe at night as well.